Dr. Beverly Deliz-Tirado works as an adult nephrologist. She has indicated that her clinical interests include hypertension (high blood pressure), lupus nephritis, and glomerulonephritis. Blue Cross Blue Shield EPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Bronze, and Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO are among the insurance carriers that Dr. Deliz-Tirado takes. After attending the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, she completed her residency training at a hospital affiliated with the University of South Florida (USF). Dr. Deliz-Tirado is professionally affiliated with Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Florida Medical Clinic, and Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.

Currently in medical care in the United States, there are four main primary care specialties: family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and geriatrics. Internal medicine is primary care for adults, pediatrics is primary care for children and infants, and geriatrics is primary care for seniors. Family medicine, the broadest specialty, is primary care for all ages.

A family medicine physician is a medical ‘home base’ for patients. They treat all ages, all sexes, all organs, and all diseases. They can see every member of the family, from birth through old age. This allows family medicine doctors to develop long-term relationships with their patients and to understand how their patients’ role in the family affects their health. They can provide check-ups, immunizations, screening services, gynecological exams and obstetric care, routine health care, and health counseling. When more specialized care is needed, a family medicine doctor can refer their patients to appropriate specialists. They can become educators and advocates for their patients in the sometimes overwhelming health care system.

As health care changes in this country, family medicine is a growing specialty for families and individuals who are seeking more personalized health care and a more personal relationship with their physician.

Interventional cardiology is the treatment of heart disease without surgery, through the use of catheters. Primarily this is via a procedure called cardiac catheterization, where a long, thin, flexible tube, called a catheter, is threaded through a vein or artery up towards the heart. The catheter can be used to inject dye for x-rays, open narrowed artery walls, widen heart valves, place stents, or perform other tests and procedures.

Cardiology is a large specialty, and covers many diseases and disorders of the heart as well as several different kinds of treatments. What makes interventional cardiologists special is their ability to use minimally invasive procedures to treat heart disease. Interventional cardiologists may treat coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease, where blood vessels become narrowed or blocked. They also may repair or replace damaged heart valves.

During a cardiac catheterization, the interventional cardiologist inserts the catheter into a blood vessel through a small incision in the groin or arm. It is then threaded to the blocked artery or into the heart, where tiny tools can be passed through the tube. These tools are used to perform percutaneous coronary interventions, or procedures done to the heart and arteries via catheter. Procedures may include:

Angioplasty, or opening of blocked arteries, often via the inflation of a balloon

Atherectomy, the physical cutting away of plaque buildup

Stenting, the placement of metal springs to hold artery walls open

Heart valve repair or replacement

Closure of holes in the heart

That these procedures can be performed without the pain and recovery time of traditional surgery is truly amazing.